'Legendary' Singer Jill Sobule Who Had A Bitter Feud With Katy Perry For Releasing Song Of The Same Name Dies Aged 66 In Tragic House Fire
Singer songwriter Jill Sobule, known for her feud with superstar Katy Perry, perished in a house fire aged 66.
May 2 2025, Published 10:46 a.m. ET
Legendary singer and songwriter Jill Sobule, who sparked a bitter feud with Katy Perry, has tragically died in a house fire.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the artist, 66, perished after a property caught fire in Minneapolis early on Thursday morning.
Sobule slammed Perry for copying her song title — I Kissed A Girl — for her debut single.
The home was already engulfed in flames by the time first responders arrived, and the blaze — whose cause wasn't immediately known — is reportedly under investigation.
Sobule is best known for her 1995 single I Kissed A Girl and she became embroiled in a feud with Perry after the superstar singer released her hit song of the same name nearly a decade later in 2008.
The following year, she lashed out at Perry, calling her a "f---ing little sl--" after initially claiming she wasn't bothered by the song.
Perry claimed she came up with I Kissed A Girl 'in a dream', which irked Sobule.
She took issue with the Hot n Cold hitmaker for reusing the song's name after Perry, 40, claimed she had come up with it "in a dream."
Sobule, who identified as bisexual, said: "In truth, she wrote it with a team of professional writers and was signed by the very same guy that signed me in 1995.
"I have not mentioned that in interviews as I don’t want to sound bitter or petty — 'cause, that's not me."
In the same interview, Sobule vented her fury at Perry in another shocking tirade.
She said: "F--- you Katy Perry, you f---ing stupid, maybe 'not good for the gays,' title thieving, haven't heard much else, so not quite sure if you're talented, f---ing little sl--."
Although her fame ebbed over time, she continued to regularly record and release new music in recent years.
The performer had been scheduled to appear at Swallow Hill Music's Tuft Theater in Denver, Colorado — her birthplace — on Friday.
Sobule, who also had a song featured in the classic 1995 comedy Clueless, reached number 20 on U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks that year with I Kissed A Girl, making it the most-successful openly LGBTQ-themed song up to that point on the Billboard charts
Her representative said a formal memorial to her life and work will be held this summer.
Sobule also had a song featured in the classic 1995 comedy Clueless.
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Sobule's manager, John Porter, said in a statement: "Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture. I was having so much fun working with her.
"I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory, and legacy continue to live on and inspire others."
Sobule's longtime attorney, Ken Hertz, added. "Jill wasn't just a client. She was family to us. She showed up for every birth, every birthday, and every holiday.
"She performed at our daughter's wedding, and I was her 'tech' when she performed by Zoom from our living room (while living with us) during the pandemic."
Sobule is survived by her brother James Sobule and his wife Mary Ellen, as well as by her nephews, Ian Matthew, Robert and his wife Irina.
